USA > New York > New York City > History of the city of New York : its origin, rise, and progress. Vol. I > Part 26
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247
A PROSPEROUS ERA IN NEW YORK.
The news produced intense satisfaction in New York. The English and the Dutch inhabitants became better friends than ever. There was much social visiting during the winter of 1668 - 69. The formal enter- tainments were not more than five or six in number, but a club was estab- lished, comprising the more notable of the Dutch, English, and French families, who met twice a week, at one another's houses in rotation, coming together about six in the evening and separating at nine o'clock. The refreshments were simple, consisting chiefly of wines and brandies, -" not compounded and adulterated as in England," wrote Maverick, - and they were always served in a silver tankard. These gatherings were productive of great good feel- ing. Lovelace was generally present
and rendered himself exceedingly agreeable. To those who would share
in any considerable degree the advan- tages of this coterie, familiarity with three languages - English, Dutch, and French - was almost indispen- sable. Indeed, education was held in such high esteem, that the difficul- ties of obtaining it were overcome by the employment of private tutors in all the wealthy families.
Portrait of Steendam,
The earliest poet in New York was Jacob Steendam. A poem which appeared in 1659," The Complaint of New Amsterdam to her Mother," was from his pen ; also " The Praise of New Netherland," which was published in a small quarto form in 1661. He wrote a variety of verse, some of which was distinguished by great elegance. He indulged in quaint con- ceits and rhymes, and evinced oftentimes a strong religious feeling. The action of his poems was usually taken from the Scriptures or classical mythology. A few fragments of poetry from the pen of Hon. Nicasius De Sille have been handed down to us from the same remote period ; and a little volume of poems written at a later date by Dominie Selyns is the key to a treasure of genius and culture.
A prosperous era was dawning upon New York. Several Bostonians removed thither and invested largely in real estate. One man bought five houses, which had just been erected on Broadway. Business of all kinds increased. Nine or ten vessels were in port at one time, with cargoes of tobacco from Virginia. Large quantities of wheat were shipped
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
to Boston. A fishing bank was discovered two or three leagues from Sandy Hook, on which, in a few hours, some twelve hundred " excellent good cod " were taken. More than twenty whales were caught during the spring at the east end of Long Island, and several in New York Bay. Lovelace, co-operating with some of the merchants, built a strong and handsome vessel called the " Good Fame," which was sent to Virginia and subsequently to England. A smaller and less costly ship was launched about the same time at Gravesend. Some gentlemen, who arrived at this time from Bermuda and Barbadoes, were so much pleased with the prospect, that they bought houses and plantations. Nicolls ob- tained from the Duke of York the gift of a snug house on Broadway for Maverick, who complained that he had never received the value of a sixpence (one horse excepted) for his services to the government.
Daniel Denton describes New York at that date as " built mostly of brick and stone, and covered with red and black tile; and the land being high, it gives at a distance a pleasing aspect to beholders." The king's cosmographer, John Ogilby, more elaborately pictures it, as "placed upon the neck of the island looking toward the sea "; and as " com- pact and oval, with fair streets and several good houses; - the rest are built much after the manner of Holland, to the number of about four hundred ; upon one side of the town is James'-fort, capable to lodge three hundred soldiers ; it hath forty pieces of cannon mounted; it is always furnished with arms and ammunition against accidents, and is well accommodated with a spring of fresh water; the church rises from the fort with a lofty double roof between which a square tower looms up : on one side of the church is the prison and on the other side the govern- or's house ; at the water-side stand the gallows and the whipping-post."
A glowing tribute was paid to Hell Gate, which was represented as sending forth such a hideous roaring as to deter any stranger from attempting to pass it without a pilot, and was therefore an absolute defense against any hostile approach from that direction. Governor's Island had been beautified and rendered attractive through the making of a garden and the planting of fruit trees. Long Island, although so recently pronounced by Maverick " poor and inconsiderable," was de- scribed by Denton, whose home was in Jamaica, as almost a paradise. Crops were plentiful; trout and other delicious fish abounded in the crystal streams ; fruits grew spontaneously, especially strawberries, of which he says, "they are in such abundance in June that the fields and woods are dyed red." The vast, smooth plains encouraged the breeding of swift horses. Lovelace ordered that trials of speed at the race-course established by Nicolls should take place every May. A subscription-list
249
THE DUTCH REFORMED CHURCH.
was filled out by those who were disposed to enter horses for a crown of silver, or its value in good wheat. The swiftest horse was rewarded with a silver cup.
The clergymen of the Reformed Dutch church in New York were Dominie Schaats at Albany, Dominie Polhemus on Long Island, and Dominies Megapolensis and Drisius, colleagues at New York. Early in the spring, Dominie Megapolensis obtained of the governor permission to visit Holland, where he died suddenly, after twenty-seven years of ministerial service in the province. Dominie Drisius was in feeble health, and needed assistance, which could only be furnished by Ægidius Luyck, the Latin teacher, who had studied divinity in Holland, and by the foresinger, Evert Pietersen.
In June, 1670, Lovelace offered one thousand guilders per annum, with a dwelling-house free of rent, and firewood gratis, to any minister from Holland who would come and take charge of the New York 1670.
church. Dominie Selyns, who was settled in Wavereen, Holland, induced his relative, Dominie Wilhemus Van Nieuwenhuysen, to accept the liberal proposition. He duly made the voyage, and, in the summer of 1671, was installed as the colleague of Dominie Drisius. The new minister was an accomplished scholar, full of fire and eloquence in the pulpit, and highly acceptable to the church and congregation. The gov- ernor furnished Dominie Drisius with an allowance from the public revenue, and authorized the consistory to tax the congregation for the support of the pulpit and of the poor. Thus the English rulers virtually established the Dutch Church in New York. The elders and deacons at this time were Ex-Governor Peter Stuyvesant, Oloff S. Van Cort- landt, Paulus Van der Grist, Boele Roelofsen, Jacob Teunissen Kay, and Jacob Leisler.1
The English customs in regard to the observance of the Sabbath were as rigid as those of the Dutch, and were sustained by the habits and feelings of the great mass of the population. It was about 1678 that the statute was passed in England which may be regarded as the founda- tion of our present laws on the subject; although, when the colonies became States, each one legislated more or less for itself, and there was a gradual and universal relaxation of the excessive severity of the earlier years. The statute referred to forbade any person laboring or doing any business or work, except works of charity or necessity, on the " Lord's Day "; and it was enforced to the letter. Any violation of it was vis-
1 Brodhead, II. 176. Corr. Classis of Amst. Records of Collegiate R. D. Church, N. Y. New York City Rec., VI. 562- 750. Gen. Ent., IV. 47. Council Minutes, III. 82. Col. Doc., II. 470, 475 ; III. 189. Murphy's Anthology of N. N., 146, 178.
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
ited with immediate punishment. Ludicrous stories are told of Puritan rigor : how, in Massachusetts, no one was permitted to make beer on Saturday, lest it should " work " on Sunday; and how, in Connecticut, no man was allowed to kiss his wife on the Sabbath. But, with all due allowance for humorous exaggeration, it was practically the same in New York. The Sabbath was consecrated to an entire cessation from worldly labor. With a musical peal of the old Dutch bell the houses poured forth their occupants. Since no power ever decreed adversely to the dressing of one's best on that day, it must have been a bright and impressive scene. Gentlemen wore long-waisted coats, the skirts reach- ing almost to the ankles, with large silver buttons, sparkling down the entire front ; a velvet waistcoat trimmed with silver-lace peeped out, and the shirt-front was elaborately embroidered; breeches were of silver cloth or different colored silks, according to the taste of the wearer ; and the shoe-buckles were of silver. Ladies wore jaunty jackets of silk, vel- vet, or cloth, over different colored skirts. Sleeves were of the " mutton- leg " shape, with large turned-up white cuffs. Not only were chains for the neck much in vogue, but girdle-chains of gold and silver were common, to which were suspended costly bound Bibles and hymn-books for church use. Brooches and finger-rings also were much worn. The hair was dressed high and was frizzed about the face, and the bonnet was very pretty. The mayor and aldermen, in a dress that was peculiarly conspicuous, occupied, in the church, a pew by themselves. Lovelace, in the afternoon, attended the Episcopal service, and occupied the governor's pew, which had been elaborately fitted up by Nicolls. Another pew was set apart for the governor's council.
The Duke of York sympathized with any and every religious creed which dissented from the Church of England. He was by conviction a Roman Catholic; a fact which was not then without its value, as it served to protect irregular forms of worship, and actually placed him before the world as the friend of religious toleration. He permitted the Lutherans in New York to call a minister, the Rev. Jacobus Fabricus, from Germany. He went first to Albany. But his conduct there was not such as became his calling, and, complaints having been made, Love- lace suspended him from the pulpit at that place, giving him, at the same time, permission to preach in New York. It was soon found that, in addition to a dictatorial and quarrelsome temper, manifested in all his church relations, he was constantly abusing his wife. She spent one whole winter in the garret of their house, suffering all the while from fever and ague. She finally complained to the government, and peti- tioned, that since the house belonged to herself, that her husband should
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CURIOUS RELIC.
be ordered to give up the keys and not presume to enter it any more. After a careful investigation, through which they found that the husband was deserving of great blame, the court granted her request. Six months later he defied legal authority by going to his wife's house in an angry and turbulent manner. A woman who tried to prevent his entrance was pushed over her spinning-wheel and severely hurt. Soldiers were sum- moned to arrest him, and he fought them desperately. He was conquered, tried, fined, and compelled to ask pardon of the court. The clamors against him were so loud, that the governor once more interfered and removed him from the pulpit, giving him permission to proceed to the Delaware.
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Mans Porzu Detru
[Gold Chatelaine, worn at this period by Mrs. Jacob Leisler, having been brought to New York by her mother, Mrs. Govert Loockermans. After Mrs. Leisler's death it became the property of her daughter, Hester, and has descended in the direct line to Miss Gertrude S. Ogden, of Newark, N J., in whose possession it is at present, and through whose courtesy the copy has been permitted.]
A meeting for merchants -the first New York Exchange - was established in March of this year. The members were to meet every Friday morning, between eleven and twelve o'clock, at the bridge
which crossed the ditch at Broad Street, -the site of what is March 24. now Exchange Place. Just above this there was a hill, which was a favorite place with the boys for coasting on their sleds, affording as it did a steep descent from Broadway down to the bridge; but Lovelace or- dered the mayor of the city to see that the meetings were not disturbed. 16
252
HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
In the autumn, an interesting political event created a considerable sensation. The Court of Assizes levied a tax upon the Long Island towns for the purpose of repairing the fort in New York. They had, for Oct. 8. several years, paid a direct tax of a penny in the pound to defray their town charges. They had also submitted graciously to the Duke's custom duties for the support of his government. But this last infliction was the straw too much. If yielded to, it might become a dangerous precedent ; they might be required to maintain the garrison, and they knew not what else. They were persuaded that the principle of "taxa- tion only by consent "- which Holland had maintained since 1477, and England had adopted in her Petition of Right in 1628-was their birthright as British subjects. Public meetings were called and protests fearlessly adopted and sent to the governor. At the court, which met at
Gravesend, December 21st, Secretary Nicolls presided, and Coun- Dec. 21. selors Van Ruyven, Manning, and Thomas Lovelace were present as justices. It was unanimously agreed that "the said papers were false, scandalous, illegal, and seditious," and they were referred to the governor and his council for such action as should " best tend to the suppression of mischief." Lovelace ordered that, at the next Mayor's Court, they should be publicly burned before the City Hall in New York, and their originators prosecuted.
But it was easier to burn documents than to control public opinion. The people of Long Island were full of indignation. They accused the governor of despotism, and openly threatened a revolt. Some of the towns had taken out new patents, in conformity with the law of 1666. But Southampton and Southold refused, the latter on the ground that their title from the Indians and New Haven was sufficient : Southampton relied upon theirs from Lord Stirling. The Court of Assizes declared the titles invalid, unless a patent from the Duke's government should be obtained within a certain time. This produced from fifty of the citizens of Southampton a remonstrance, which was so full of reason and spirit, that Lovelace, having promised to appoint commissioners to confer with them, postponed the matter indefinitely.
The most memorable act of Lovelace's administration was the purchase of Staten Island from the Indian sachems, who complained that April 7. they had never received full compensation from the Dutch. He quieted all their claims with a quantity of wampum, coats, kettles, guns, powder, lead, axes, hoes, and knives, and obtained a deed in behalf of the Duke of York. Immediate measures were taken to induce persons to settle there. The surveyors called it " the most commodiosest seate and richest land in America."
253
CHARLES II. AND LOUIS XIV.
Matthias Nicolls, who had been secretary of the province and one of the governor's council since 1664, was appointed mayor of the city in 1671. Few Englishmen of his time had a keener percep- 1671. tion of practical necessities, or a character more admirably fitted for the position. The following year, Thomas Delavall - the mayor, in 1666 - was reappointed. He purchased several large estates, among which were Great and Little Barent Islands, now Barn Islands, near Hell Gate, and a cherry orchard of several acres in the neighborhood of Franklin Square. From this orchard, Cherry Street derived its name.
In March, 1671, Lovelace bought the greater portion of the "Dominie's Bouwery." This property consisted of about sixty-two acres of
land between the present Warren and Christopher Streets, which March 9. formerly belonged to Dominie Bogardus and his wife, Anetje Jans, and had been confirmed to their heirs by Nicolls in 1667. It adjoined the West India Company's farm, which the Duke of York held by virtue of confiscation by Nicolls. Lovelace made the purchase for his own benefit and for some time held it in his own right. It was afterwards vested in the crown, and, by a curious train of events, the farm of the first Dutch minister was merged in the estate now enjoyed by the corporation of Trinity Church.
In the mean time, in England, the king had grown restless under con- stitutional restraints. The independence, the safety, the dignity of the nation over which he presided were nothing to him. While an 1672.
assembly of subjects could call for his accounts before paying his debts, or could insist upon knowing which of his mistresses or boon companions had intercepted the money destined for the equipping and manning of the national fleet, he could not think himself a king ; and he determined upon emancipating himself. Who, better than the French king, could aid in establishing absolute monarchy in England ? To this end he opened a negotiation ; and his own sister, the beautiful and witty Henrietta, Duchess of Orleans, who was also the sister-in-law of Louis, and a favor- ite with both monarchs, was made the chief agent at the French court. The offer of Charles was to dissolve the Triple Alliance and join France against the Dutch Republic, if Louis would furnish such military and pecuniary assistance as would render him independent of Parliament. To this arrangement Louis consented, and a secret treaty was signed, by which Charles bound himself to profess the Roman Catholic religion, and employ the whole strength of England by land and by sea to destroy the power of the United Provinces, and to maintain the rights of the house of Bourbon to the throne of Spain. The Duke of York was immensely gratified; and in haste to see the article touching the Roman Catholic
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
religion carried into immediate execution. But Louis was too wise, and decreed that Charles should continue to call himself a Protestant, and, at high festivals, to receive the sacrament according to the ritual of the Church of England.
The Prince of Orange had been, from his birth, an object of serious apprehension to the aristocratic party in Holland, and it was not intended to restore him to the high office of Stadtholder, which had been regarded as hereditary in his family. He was a cold, sullen young man, without health, but full of ambitious ideas and projects. As the nephew of Charles, and a grandson of England, it was thought expedient to bring him if possible into the alliance. Accordingly, he was invited to London, where his birthday was celebrated with great pomp. He was offered the despotic rule of the seven provinces, and the hand of Mary, the daughter of the Duke of York, in marriage, if he would join the allies. He re- plied, " My country trusts in me; I will not sacrifice it to my interests, but if need be die with it in the last ditch." When war was actually declared, he chafed under his thraldom and longed to be at the head of armies. As he was of age, there was a strong tide of public sentiment in favor of giving him the supreme command.
De Witt resisted for a long time. It had been his policy to foster the sea, rather than the land forces of the nation ; consequently, while the Dutch fleets under De Ruyter and Tromp fought gloriously and main- tained the honor of their flag against England, the French monarch in- vaded the Netherlands with his armies, numbering two hundred thousand men, to meet twenty thousand Dutch soldiers. The annals of the human race record but few instances of moral power so successfully defying and repelling such superiority of force. The dikes were broken up, and the country was drowned. The son of Grotius, suppressing anger at the ignominious proposals of Louis XIV., who had established his court at. Utrecht, protracted the negotiations until the rising waters formed a. wide and impassable moat around the cities. At Gronigan, the whole population, without regard to sex, - little children even, - toiled on the fortifications. The suffering and terrified people raged against the gov- ernment. The Prince of Orange came forward and spoke to the States- General in lofty and inspiring language. He told them that, even if their soil and all the marvels of it were buried under the ocean, all was not lost. They might take refuge in the farthest isles of Asia, and commence a new and glorious existence amid the sugar-canes and nutmeg-trees ! He was presently made Captain-General, and shortly after De Witt resigned his. office of Pensionary, and his brother Cornelius was imprisoned. Men in their madness attributed to their ablest statesmen and bravest generals.
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FIERCE BATTLES IN EUROPE.
all the disasters which had occurred. One day while De Witt was visiting his brother in the prison, a band of infuriated ruffians burst in the doors, dragged them both out, and brutally assassinated them in front of the Binenhof, at the Hague. Confusion and discouragement seemed at their height. The stern determination of Prince William, however, infused new life into the faltering army, until the French thought it prudent to retire. Holland was saved.
But the landing of English troops upon the soil could only be pre- vented by naval conflicts. The younger Tromp had been disgraced 1673. some time before on the accusation of De Ruyter; hence the two commanders were bitter enemies. At the battle of Soulsberg, the Dutch with fifty-two ships of the line engaged an enemy with eighty. De Ruy- ter was in the full flush of victory, when he discovered that Tromp was nearly overpowered. He magnanimously checked his own career and turned to the relief of the latter. Seeing the movement, the young hero shouted, " There comes grandfather to the rescue ; I will never desert him as long as I breathe."
The issue of that day was uncertain. In the next encounter, the ad- vantage was decidedly with the Dutch, and the English retreated
to the Thames. Two months later, one hundred and fifty English Aug. 11. and French ships were met by seventy-five Dutch, near the Helder, and a terrible battle ensued. The contesting forces rivalled each other in stubborn valor. The noise of artillery boomed along the low coasts, while the Dutch churches were thronged with people praying for the success of their arms. To the ears of these anxious worshipers, the fluctuating roar of the conflict - now almost dying away into silence, and, again, shaking the earth and filling all the air - was followed at last by the protracted hush which afforded the first intimation of the enemy's retreat. A marvelous victory had been won, and De Ruyter and Tromp shared with William of Orange in the tumultuous gratitude which, like the sea, almost deluged the country.
New York must needs suffer meanwhile. Its progress was checked with the first news of the commotion beyond the seas. Lovelace gave his attention to defenses. An extra company of foot was organized, and that sterling old Dutch officer, Martin Cregier, was placed in command. A volunteer troop of horse was also raised, and Ex-Mayor Cornelis Steen- wyck was made its captain. The fort was repaired and other precautions were taken. All ships bound for Europe were compelled to sail in com- pany for mutual protection against privateers. The navigation of the Hudson River was restricted. The merchants were hampered and on the eve of bankruptcy. Commerce was injured with all the colonies along
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
the Atlantic coast. Several New York merchant vessels - among them even the Good Fame itself - were captured by the Dutch.
The news that Colonel Nicolls had been killed in the first naval en- gagement was received in New York with much lamentation,1 and funeral exercises were held with great solemnity in the Dutch church in the fort.
A compulsory tax for the building of a new battery was not deemed prudent or politic ; hence Lovelace asked for a " benevolence " from each town in the province. A commission, consisting of Francis Rombouts, Thomas Lovelace, Captain Manning, Allard Anthony, Thomas Gibbs, and Captain Richard Morris,2 was appointed to receive and expend the moneys collected. A legion of knotty questions immediately sprung up in con- nection with titles and quitrents. While the governor and his council were doing their best to preserve harmony in New York, an arrogant assembly at Elizabethtown deposed Governor Philip Carteret, and ap- pointed his cousin James, the son of Sir George, who had just arrived, in his stead. And Delaware escaped the imminent peril of being absorbed by Maryland.
The times were so disturbed that Lovelace was impressed with the necessity of establishing an overland mail between New York and Bos- ton, for the transmission of intelligence, in case of sudden danger or misfortune, and for the advancement of commerce. He consequently issued a proclamation, on the 10th of December, 1672, that on the first
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